Brake Adjustment 1936 Mechanical

Don't forget about spring 48-2472. (over 6 1/2 inches long) If you have removed the clevis for the rear rods at the cross shaft, you will notice that there is a 1/8" space between the rod ends once they are attached to the pin. That is where this spring connects.
Check your 1935-1936 Ford Book -- page 89 top left column. It is a fun spring to install and helps return the cross shaft to the proper position for making adjustments.
You have probably read that the cross shaft connectors and the brake lever at the drum backing plate need to be vertical when connected to offer optimum braking.

(you may need a come-along to attach the spring-- and that could be why you may not have noticed it when removing the rear rods -- as it wasn't there)
 
One shoe will move only or respond to the weaker spring ,on contacting the drum the other one will move
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Originally Posted by billybronco1 View Post
So should I assume that both front brake shoes should expand on the bottom when I push the brake pedal and I should be able to see this with the drum off, just like the rears?
 
Thanks Ted, I have not opted out of using floaters, I just want to understand and get everything right without them the best I can before installing. Now that I have everything apart how does one proceed to get the rod lengths correct and the pads adjusted. Which one do you do first?
 
You can adjust the rod threads by varying the pedal to cross shaft length that's in the battery box ,so you are aiming to have plenty of thread left ,the car I pictured in last thred had run out of rod thred so when i welded up the parts as described I was able to let out the adjustment so I had restored clevis thread , so by adjusting the front shoes to drum clearance first will dictate were the clevas ends up its were the rod thread comes out to meet it 1/32 to place the pin in ,rods should have 50% of thred left ,Rod angles change as you get drum & lining ware so you need to restore that .
 
Clevases or the cross shaft should be about vertical when the brakes are applied so the starting point is before verticial ,Front clevas I prefer them to be about 30% forward as a starting point ,you can shim or weld up the king pin actuator rod a mig is best you can form a ball just like whats there ,
 
Yes, both brake shoes should move out at the bottom on front and rear, at all four wheels. You may need to remove the shoes, and all other components that make the shoes move, to determine if wear is excessive. Also, you need to make sure the sleeve bearings that support the shaft that goes through the backing plates, and actuates the wedges, are not excessively worn.
In other words....any part in the entire mechanical breaking system that turns, slides, pivots or moves in such a way that wear can occure, must be checked and replaced/repaired as necessary, before the mechanical braking system can be properly adjusted, and expected to work as originally designed.
 
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Today after cleaning up all the rods and and back plate adjusters I proceeded to take the fronts off. One side pushed out the front pad, the other the rear pad. The wedges and rollers look okay to me but maybe it makes sense to replace them while everything is apart, what do you think? Maybe the springs too. I think I read someplace not to use grease on these moving parts, they were pretty caked up with grease, some dried out. That could be part of the problem.
 

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What JM 35 is talking about .Here is some backing plates that were badly worn ,had to boar out and rebush with a thick wall bushing,the owner wanted a new casting as it had been welded up were the shaft had worn into it ,Non available that I know of , we cut the weld bit of and made a stepped bush ,
 

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billybronco1 said:
Today after cleaning up all the rods and and back plate adjusters I proceeded to take the fronts off. One side pushed out the front pad, the other the rear pad. The wedges and rollers look okay to me but maybe it makes sense to replace them while everything is apart, what do you think? Maybe the springs too. I think I read someplace not to use grease on these moving parts, they were pretty caked up with grease, some dried out. That could be part of the problem.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in my previous post....IMO, you must repair/replace all moving components in the entire mechanical braking system that exhibit excessive wear. Also, IMO all of these moving components in the braking system should be properly lubricated.
 
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I really have not found any worn parts, everything looks good. I pulled the fronts all apart, cleaned everything and put it back together, no grease as IMO it just collects dirt and brake dust. Both shoes in the front now expand when pushing on the brake pedal.
 
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Good to hear that you have no ware ,As said one shoe can move first more so on a 37/38 they have two springs this is indicator of a week spring on one side ,in your case it sounded like Dirt/gunge ,the wedge is a equalizer and compensates for shoe ware by moving side ways ,not all components that have ware are available of the shelves so some creative thinking has to come into play when doing a brake job .The 35 I worked on had no ware to speak of and no brakes ,The previous guy who worked on it was against floaters ,OH yes some one put the lower anchor washer P# 2054 on the out side , we rectified that to ,it now has brakes .Ted
 
FlatheadTed said:
Good to hear that you have no ware ,As said one shoe can move first more so on a 37/38 they have two springs this is indicator of a week spring on one side ,in your case it sounded like Dirt/gunge ,the wedge is a equalizer and compensates for shoe ware by moving side ways ,not all components that have ware are available of the shelves so some creative thinking has to come into play when doing a brake job .The 35 I worked on had no ware to speak of and no brakes ,The previous guy who worked on it was against floaters ,OH yes some one put the lower anchor washer P# 2054 on the out side , we rectified that to ,it now has brakes .Ted
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I did not see the 2054 washer you mentioned. Is that on the outside of the backing plate?
 
Good Afternoon Billy, On page one Very tangled put up the parts list it should be on the inside ,next to the wedge ,Ted
 
I didn't take off the pn 2053 wedge post so I'm going to assume it was on that up against the backing plate. Everything is all back together just waiting for some clevis pins for the brake rods to finish the job. Looking forward to a test drive. I'm going to assume its a good idea to re-adjust the brakes after the first drive and brakes get centered.
 
No, the fronts look like new probably barely touched the drums and the rears were replaced not long ago. They look really good.
 
Billy be sure the shoe arc matches the drum. If the drums have been turned but shoes not arced to match you will have little contact area(look like new) and a sucky pedal. Cheers
Tony
 
Tony, I hear you I should have checked the arc before I put them all back together. But they way these original brake set ups are, I think your lucky if half the shoe touches the drum anyway on a good day. If I put brake floaters in I'm sure this would be crucial. Once I get the new clevis pins I will post how it stops on my test run. Most the little rollers were all gunked up with harden grease, they are all clean now and roll smoothly, and all appeared round too by measuring.
 
Got it all back together today and took it for a ride. Well it does not stop as good as my Jeep GC and I'm not going to leave any rubber on the road but it does stop better. When I got back I was able to get another click or two on each brake adjuster. So after a couple days of cleaning and adjusting at least I have a complete understanding how these brakes work even if not perfect. One problem I have is the pedals are so small and close together my size 14's sometimes get the brake and the gas at the same time. Thanks for all the tips.
 
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